A journey of exploration and discovery of who I am becoming during the aging process. A great big bang-up HURRAH! that
I'm alive. A lot of talk about sundry and miscellaneous stuff & nonsense that may or may not have relevance; they may not even make sense (remember, I'm menopausal!). But I'm hoping they'll be fun.

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Home again, Home again, Jiggidy jig!

My vacation was lovely. What a blessing to have thoughtful children and their mates.

It was a gastronomic fiesta for me. I ate as much ethnic food as I could: mornings were as simple and as wonderful as a good coffee and a croissant from the French bakery across the street from my Airbnb. And it was such a treat to find fresh strawberries (NL strawberries won't be ripe until mid July) and cheap 'n' juicy mangos. Lunches were simple affairs (such as this Vietnamese Ban Mi and fresh beet/ginger/carrot/orange juice; and dinners were amazing and varied and I was never disappointed.

Japanese Sushi

Vietnamese

Tibetan

Cuban

Turkish

Our Turkish feast was the most amazing of all! My daughter's partner is Turkish; Sat night his dad and step-mom took us all out to the best Turkish restaurant in Toronto area, Anatolia. This is now my favorite food: lots of rich tomato sauces, yogurt and garlic, tender meats, and drizzles of melted butter & garlic over everything. Oh my goodness! If you've never eaten it, I urge you to try. The second half of my trip was Halifax/Dartmouth in NS, home of another daughter. While there, we had an extremely successful shopping trip at Value Village ..... made even better with my 30% off coupon. It was like that particular VV was waiting for my return and had stored up almost all the things on my list! What a good little thrift shop?

Then later that day, we headed to a food truck festival. We rode the bus from Dartmouth to Halifax which is such a novelty for me. We were some of the first to arrive so got our food fairly quickly. Then we plunked ourselves on the grass and munched to our mutual delight.

Four of us shared the most wonderful mini-donuts (far L) in such flavors as Strawberry Shortcake, Lemon Cream Pie, Maple Bacon and Coconut.

The rain during the rest of my trip gave my daughter and I plenty of time to catch up with each other and with Netflix. Thankfully, with all the walking I did, I didn't gain any extra weight. And as glad as I was to return home to my own bed, I shall miss the awesome variety of foods that I got to eat.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I KNOW

It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, that we will begin to live each day to the fullest; as if it were the only one we had.

...

THIS IS ME..... but I could change.... if I really HAVE to!

Female w/ loads of laugh-lines who is determined to remain her old-optimistic self. At the end of middle-age & at the beginning of being a senior! I love my new found solitude; yet love to be surrounded by my friends. Eats way too much chocolate (is there such a thing?); would like to drink more red wine; & am embarking on a new healthy-eating regime. (And I'm sure I can combine all 3!) Hard-working & frequently tired. Calgon -- take me away!!